Bishop John Namanzah Niyiring has offered an account of the recent attack on Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Nearly 200 lost their lives in the attack on the largely Muslim city of 3.4 million.
“The attackers seemed well trained and wore camouflage uniforms like those used by the mobile police force,” the Bishop of Kano told the Fides news agency. “This misled some civilians that directed themselves towards the terrorists, believing them to be policemen, and were killed without mercy. Among the targets hit with explosive devices are the headquarters of the Regional Police, the Security Service, Customs and Immigration Department, in addition to the police station.”
“A good number of terrorists were foreigners, especially from Niger and Chad,” Bishop Niyiring added. “Some of these are probably foreigners waiting for legal regulation and were recruited by Boko Haram. Even some of the Catholic Church structures were damaged, but priests and religious were not affected. But we have news of some of our parishioners among the victims.”
On Saturday night, January 21, a group of armed men burst into a chapel in the community of Corral Falso, in the municipality of Atoyac de Alvarez, and opened fire on the faithful who had gathered in prayer for the mass of a community member’s soul killed the previous week: the toll of the tragic violence is seven were killed and five were injured, according to a statement from the Attorney General in the region of Guerrero. The police said they had received a phone call on Saturday night, January 21, which denounced that three men had fired on a group of faithful. The agents of the State Police then visited the scene, where they found the dead and wounded. These were taken to the general hospital Atoyac de Alvarez for medical care. At the same time of the Corral Falso aggression, there were 2 other episodes of violence in the area of the coast, in the municipality of Benito Juarez, in the region of San Jeronimo, and in the municipality of San Marcos, in the region of the Costa Chica. The total is a further 15 more deaths.
At least 70 members of two radical Muslim groups--the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum and the Islamic Reform Movement--surrounded a home where a Protestant service was taking place. Police who were guarding the home did not intervene until the service was cut short, according to an Indonesian media report.
The incident took place in Bogor, a city of 950,000 on the island of Java. Since 2008, local officials have prevented the congregation from worshipping in their church, resulting in services on the sidewalk and in homes.
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